Trump Administration Plans To Deport 59,000 Haitians By July 2019

According to The New York Times, Homeland Security announced that the Trump administration is ending a humanitarian program that allowed 59,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States after the devastation caused by the 2010 earthquake wrecked the island nation.

The program, known as Temporary Protection Status (TPS), will be expected to leave the United States by July 2019 or they will face deportation.

Naturally, the decision left many Haitians in South Florida, New York and elsewhere feeling extremely unsettled and uncertain about their futures. People from other countries, who have been granted Temporary Protection Status, are also wondering about their futures.

According to NYT, about 320,000 people now benefit from the TPS program, which was first signed into law in 1990 by President George Bush. The decision to end the program for Haitians follows one that ended protections for 2,500 Nicaraguans last month.

According to the Times, Haiti relies heavily on money from expatriates, who often send funds back home. The Haitian government has asked the Trump administration to extend the protections.

Gerald Michaud, who works as a wheelchair attendant at LaGuardia, told The Times, that he has been sending money back to his family in Haiti and fears for his welfare and safety in his home country, should he be forced to return.

“The situation is not good in my country,” he said. “I don’t know where I am able to go.”

The Obama administration renewed the protection status several times during his eight years in office, concluding that conditions in Haiti were not yet suitable for the return of nearly 60,000 former residents.

Homeland Security released a statement defending the decision.

“Since the 2010 earthquake, the number of displaced people in Haiti has decreased by 97 percent,” the statement said. “Significant steps have been taken to improve the stability and quality of life for Haitian citizehttps://twitter.com/sydneyareynolds/status/932770331428818944ns, and Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens.”

The decision handed down by Elaine Duke, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, will give those protected until July 2019, in order for them to make arrangments.

Since the announcement has been made, several officials and everyday citizens have spoken out. See what they have to say on the following pages.

But Haiti has been hit with multiple natural disasters since TPS was first given. There's also the ongoing cholera outbreak. The idea that Haiti can handle the return of 50,000 people is absurd. pic.twitter.com/S2CXUuaCzY

#Haiti is the poorest country in Western Hemisphere – devastated by disease and an earthquake that killed 230k people. Now we tell 60k Haitians to "GET OUT"?We're better than this. And I think most Americans know it.

I travelled to #Haiti after the earthquake in 2010 and after hurricane Matthew in 2016. So I can personally attest that #Haiti is not prepared to take back nearly 60,000 #TPS recipients under these difficult and harsh conditions.

This decision is heartless and a grave mistake. Haiti is still recovering from the 2010 Earthquake, the 2011 Cholera outbreak, and the recent hurricanes. DHS should extend Haiti’s TPS for another 18 months. https://t.co/E9wN0EF593

Sending 60,000 black people back to Haiti. Calling black NFL players sons of bitches. Saying he should've left black basketball players jailed in China. Calling for a black female sportscaster to be fired. This is how trump stays above 35%. #BlatantRacism

The Administration’s decision to terminate temporary protected status for 59,000 Haitian nationals will only deepen suffering in Haiti. Congress must act in the next 18 months to protect them. https://t.co/1TelzHJqeZ